Books That Demonstrate Sharing

When my daughter was one and a half, if she saw another child who appeared to be encroaching on her territory, she’d say, “no!” even if the child was yards away and barely within earshot. It was clear that she was afraid the other child would take the toy or book she was playing with, even if it wasn’t true. One day in the library, I saw another little girl do the exact same thing, followed shortly by a scream of “mine!” from another child across the library. Sharing can be tough to teach the little ones, for sure, but there is no shortage of ways to share the message with your child.

Nine months after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the Maasai people in western Kenya shared something with Americans that they believed would be of great value in the wake of the tragedy—a gift of 14 cows. “We in the U.S. think of ourselves as giving much to other countries, and we really don’t hold the experience of others giving to the United States,” says Barb Langridge, library children’s instructor and research specialist, and creator of the website A Book and a Hug, who recommended the book. 14 Cows for America offers that perspective.

“There is more to sharing than giving someone a piece of cake or a turn with your remote control,” says Langridge. “There is the all-important gift of sharing your time with someone and sharing yourself with someone else, especially when they need you to be there for them.” This concept is demonstrated in Bear Has a Story To Tell, as Bear searches for friends who will listen to—and have time to—hear his story.

Gruntly hogs everything for himself, and his friends get fed up with his greediness. When a scavenger hunt promises treasure, Gruntly jumps in with his usual attitude, but in his hastiness to find it, he misunderstands the clues and is last to get to the treasure. His heart starts to change when he realizes there is still a bag of treasure waiting for him at the end—none of his friends had hogged it all, even though they reached the treasure first.

Kids will have fun counting, rhyming, and laughing at silly animals riding scooters and playing hockey, all while learning to share. It starts with two brown bears that have one pair of underwear and hate to share, and moves on to 10 tall twisty playground slides with 20 pigs that want a ride. When the bears see that the pigs can have fun while sharing, all the other animals try sharing, too.

by Tina Cho; illustrated by Keum Jin Song
(Little Bee Books, 2018)

Based on a true story, this book tells the story of a young girl called Yoori from South Korea who wants to share her food with the starving people of North Korea. Members of her community dare not cross the border, but instead use special balloons that carry rice over the border to feed the North Koreans. Though many people protest sharing their food, Yoori doesn’t back down.

Printed on the book’s jacket flap is a spoiler alert: “This is NOT a book about sharing.” When Monkey sees Owl’s big red balloon, he suddenly wants nothing else in the world, and is willing to trade anything to get it. Owl doesn’t want to trade, until he sees Monkey’s sock—the one with a star and a perfectly shaped hole. Suddenly, Monkey sees the value in what he already has when Owl wants it, too. In a wordless conclusion, kids will see how not sharing can lead to the ridiculousness of always wanting what others have.

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Librarians and book experts also recommend:

It’s Mine! by Leo Lionni

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein

Harold Loves His Woolly Hat by Vern Kousky

Love Monster and the Last Chocolate by Rachel Bright

The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates and Juniper Bates

The Man in the Clouds by Koos Meinderts; illustrated by Annette Fienieg

Maddi’s Fridge by Lois Brandt; illustrated by Vin Vogel

Llama Llama Time To Share by Anna Dewdney

Should I Share My Ice Cream? by Mo Willems

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Rabbit’s Gift by George Shannon; illustrated by Laura Dronzek

Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie dePaola

How Do Dinosaurs Play With Their Friends? by Jane Yolen; illustrated by Mark Teague

The Boy Who Wouldn’t Share by Mark Reiss; illustrated by David Catrow

What Is Given from the Heart by Patricia C. McKissack; illustrated by April Harrison

Jonathan & Martha by Petr Horacek

The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright; illustrated by Jim Field

You Are Not My Friend, But I Miss You by Daniel Kirk

Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend by Will Moses

The Bear Who Shared by Catherine Rayner

We Share Everything by Robert N. Munsch; illustrated by Michael Martchenko